Pomegranate Endive Salad! Looking for a new holiday salad? We’ve got the perfect herbaceous and vibrant salad for you.
Flavorful and festive, this Pomegranate Endive Salad is a beautiful Middle Eastern salad that is fashioned after the traditional tabbouleh salad with a twist. Pleasantly bitter endive, bold mint, and earthy parsley are perfectly paired with sweet pomegranates and nutty pistachios. The fluffy quinoa (or bulgur) gives a little heartiness, and the pièce de résistance is the fresh and flavorful pomegranate vinaigrette.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
We are completely and totally IN LOVE with the delicious Middle Eastern salad. It is quite beautiful and the flavors are unexpected. It makes for a perfect winter holiday salad.
You gotta give this one a try!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Pomegranate Endive salad has Middle Eastern roots. It is fashioned after the traditional tabbouleh salad but with a twist. Pleasantly bitter endive, fresh mint, and fresh parsley are perfectly paired with sweet and crunchy pomegranate arils and nutty pistachios. The fluffy quinoa (or bulgur) gives a little heartiness. The pomegranate vinaigrette is fresh tasting and is both tangy and sweet.
- Texture: If you are not a fan of the crunchiness associated with pomegranate arils, then consider skipping the arils in the salad.
- Number of Pomegranates: We used 2 small to medium-ish pomegranates and had a few arils left over. You can also buy already seeded pomegranate arils in most grocery stores. You would need approximately 1 ½ cup of pomegranate arils.
- The Art of Opening Pomegranates: It took us some time to realize there is an art to opening and removing the arils. This YouTube does a nice job of showing you the best way to open a pomegranate. Then we gently pull the arils away from the skin into a bowl.
- Juicing the Pomegranate: Follow the recipe instructions on how to obtain the pomegranate juice. Do not use a food processor or blender. You can use an electric/manual juicer.
- Vinaigrette: The vinaigrette is on the thinner side, placing it in the fridge right after making it does help as the tahini and miso will tighten it up a tad.
- Quinoa or Bulgur: There is an art to cooking quinoa to arrive at perfectly fluffy quinoa that does not look for feel soggy. When cooking quinoa use equal parts water to quinoa. In other words, use a 1:1 ratio. Bulgur is traditional for this salad, but we used quinoa simply because most people have quinoa in their pantry and bulgur is not easily found in most grocery stores. Make sure the quinoa or bulgur is at room temperature or has been refrigerated before adding it to the salad.
- Endive: We used 7 packed cups of chopped endive in this dish. Endive is a bitter green, not overly so, but pleasantly bitter. If you are not a fan of endive, you can potentially substitute another green, but the dining experience will be different, and you may need to compensate by adding other ingredients. Endive is rich in potassium which plays an important role in the function of nerves, muscles, kidneys, and heart. It is also high in Vitamin K and folate.
- Fresh Parsley: Fresh parsley is an essential ingredient in this salad. Chop the parsley into fine pieces. Fresh parsley is rich in antioxidants and Vitamins A, K, and C. It helps regulate the blood sugar.
- Fresh Mint: Fresh mint is an essential ingredient in this salad. Chop the mint into fine pieces. We used a .5 oz. package of mint that you find at most grocery stores. Fresh mint is packed with antioxidants and phytonutrients, and contains Vitamins K, A, and B-complex, phosphorus, calcium, iron, potassium and manganese.
- Pomegranate Molasses: We used Cortas Pomegranate Molasses, No Sugar Added. We also used regular Cortas Pomegranate Molasses (typical) which does have a small amount of sugar. The regular pomegranate molasses (typical) most often used in Middle Eastern cooking and it was what we had on hand at the time of one kitchen test. The no sugar added one was also used in a different kitchen test, both work equally well. Feel free to use your favorite pomegranate molasses. If using the no sugar added, you may need to add a tiny bit more maple syrup.
- Pomegranate Molasses Substitutions: We do not have any substitutions to offer.
- Tahini Substitutions: We have not kitchen tested any substitutions. You could potentially use cashew butter or almond butter with the understanding that the flavor will be influenced accordingly.
- White Miso: The miso does a great job of adding umami flavor. We love using it.
- Miso Substitutions: There really isn’t a great substitute for the miso. You can leave it out, but you may find the need to add other ingredients to compensate for flavor and slightly thickening the vinaigrette.
- Sweetness: The vinaigrette is semi-sweet. You can add more maple syrup if you want it sweeter.
- Holiday Travel: This salad is a great prep ahead salad.
- Day Before or Day Of:
- Clean, chop, and rinse the endive well, then place in a salad spinner to remove any excess water as you would normally do, then place in a container with a paper towel on top to help absorb any moisture. Place in the fridge.
- Clean the fresh parsley and place in a salad spinner to remove any excess water as you would normally do, then finely chop, and add to the endive container.
- Clean the fresh mint, place in a salad spinner to remove any excess water as you would normally do, then finely chop, and add to the endive container.
- Remove the arils from the pomegranate(s) and refrigerate.
- Cut the radishes and cucumbers and place them in separate containers and refrigerate.
- Cook the quinoa (or bulgur), cool to room temperature, then place in a separate container and refrigerate.
- Chop the pistachios and place in a container.
- Day Of:
- Juice the Pomegranate arils and make the Vinaigrette, refrigerate.
- 15 Minutes (or less) Before Serving:
- Follow Step 3 and Step 4 in the recipe instructions.
- Day Before or Day Of:
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 5 days (undressed) in the refrigerator. Use within several hours, if dressed. Store in a covered container.
This salad cannot be frozen.
Pantry Products:
- Pomegranate Molasses: We used Cortas Pomegranate Molasses, No Sugar Added. We also used regular Cortas Pomegranate Molasses which does have some sugar.
- Miso: We used Miso Master Organic Mellow White Premium Lite Miso, Certified Gluten Free. Miso really lends itself to balancing flavors when you don’t use oil. You can also use chickpea miso for a soy free version.
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Fine mesh strainer to juice the pomegranate arils
If you try this bold and flavorful salad, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Pomegranate Endive Salad
- Prep Time: 25 Minutes
- Total Time: 25 Minutes
- Yield: 2-4 Servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Flavorful and festive, this Pomegranate Endive Salad is a beautiful Middle Eastern salad that is fashioned after the traditional tabbouleh salad with a twist.
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 7 cups endive, chopped *
- 1 cup finely chopped fresh parsley *
- ½ cup (.5 oz) finely chopped fresh mint *
- 2 to 3 mini cucumbers, diced
- 2 to 3 radishes, thinly sliced
- ¼ to ½ cup pomegranate arils *
- ¼ cup chopped pistachios
- 1 cup cooked quinoa (or cooked bulgur) *
Pomegranate Vinaigrette Ingredients:
- 6 Tablespoons pomegranate juice (squeezed from 1 cup pomegranate arils) *
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup (+/-) *
- 2 teaspoon pomegranate molasses *
- 1 Tablespoon tahini *
- 1 Tablespoon white miso *
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ to ¾ teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Instructions
- Make the Pomegranate Vinaigrette by placing all the Pomegranate Vinaigrette Ingredients into a small bowl, whisking until smooth and emulsified, then place in the refrigerator.
- How to Squeeze the Pomegranate Arils for Juice: Place 1 cup of pomegranate arils into a fine mesh strainer over a bowl to capture the juice. Take a spoon and press hard against the pomegranate arils to squeeze out the juice. The juice will fall and collect into the bowl. Continue pressing until only husks remain. Toss the husks. Collect the juice to use in the vinaigrette.
- Cook the quinoa (or bulgur) according to package directions, allow to come to room temperature, set aside or refrigerate).
- To assemble the salad for presentation, place all the Salad Ingredients into a large bowl, including the cooked and cooled quinoa (or bulgur), toss to evenly distribute ingredients.
- Pour most of the Pomegranate Vinaigrette (reserving about ¼ cup) over the salad ingredients in the bowl, toss well, then plate onto a serving platter. Top with additional pomegranate arils, chopped pistachios, and a light sprinkle of cooked quinoa (or bulgur), then pour the remaining vinaigrette over top and serve.
Notes
*Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Servings: 2 to 4
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